React software library and the ASF

Occasionally we get a question on our use of the React JavaScript software library, specifically about the licensing terms of the software. React is developed by Facebook and uses a standard BSD license, but it also includes an additional patent grant that is unusual and has led to some public debate at times over the past several years. Some organizations have decided not to use React because of the license, though in general React has become one of the most popular and widely used JavaScript frameworks. We chose React for FOLIO’s user interface because it is well supported and really contributes to the modular approach of FOLIO. We had looked at alternatives to React, but they appeared to be more monolithic and less flexible for our purposes. Recently, the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) have made a decision to disallow the use of React in ASF projects because of concern over the license. We are following the discussions about this within the React community, and we’re hopeful that Facebook may revise the license as they have done in the past. Although FOLIO code uses the Apache License 2.0, it is important to note that ASF’s decision does not directly affect FOLIO, since FOLIO is associated with the Open Library Foundation rather than ASF.

An important update from Facebook: https://code.facebook.com/posts/300798627056246/relicensing-react-jest-flow-and-immutable-js/